


Beautiful and Damned

by dreamwritesimagines



Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Angst, Comfort/Angst, Courtship, Curse Breaking, Curses, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fairy Tale Curses, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Kings & Queens, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Mutual Pining, Pining, Princes & Princesses, Princess!Reader, Romance, Romantic Angst, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Romance, Slow Romance, Touch of Death, Touch-Starved, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Witch Curses, also they're idiots so there's that, her touch kills people, kingdom - Freeform, medieval love, period drama, so it's gonna be an extreme slow burn, that's why they can't touch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:20:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22560055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamwritesimagines/pseuds/dreamwritesimagines
Summary: When you were a child, every night before you went to sleep you wished for a fairytale adventure. A love like that, something that would place you right in the same place as those princesses. You had the title, you had the life, but in your future, you wanted something exactly like those fairytales.No one told you that you would get it.But again, no one told you that you weren’t supposed to wish really hard for something when you were a child either.What happened later on was exactly like the beginning of a fairytale, because after all, every fairytale had to begin with a tragedy.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Reader, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Reader, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/You
Comments: 24
Kudos: 160





	1. The First Sight

You could still remember the fairytales you listened to so closely when you were still a child. The ones with pretty princesses, and scary monsters, a brave, very brave knights that would save the princesses from fearsome beasts.

_“There was a princess, just like you_ ,” your nurse would say, _“Her mother the queen-“_

_“Like my mother?”_

_“Exactly like your mother, my sweet,”_ she would say, “ _She loved her so, so much….”_

Every night, before you went to sleep, you wished for an adventure like that. A love like that, something that would place you right in the same place as those princesses. You had the title, you had the life, but in your future, you wanted something exactly like those fairytales.

No one told you that you would get it.

But again, no one told you that you weren’t supposed to wish really hard for something when you were a child either.

What happened later on was exactly like the beginning of a fairytale, because after all, every fairytale had to begin with a tragedy.

It was your tenth birthday banquet, when a witch with multiple beasts by her side cursed you, and at first, you didn’t even believe it until you took an apple from your cousin, accidentally brushing your fingers over his skin.

He was dead right that second, his lifeless body dropping to the ground much like the apple from your hands, the scream leaving your lips almost inhuman.

Then they locked you away.

Well, not really. You were still allowed to walk around the specific parts of the castle, with the condition of wearing your long gloves, and not letting anyone touch your skin.

Not that you could really hide it if they did, not after that knight brushing a finger over your cheek, and dropping dead in a second just like the others. In time, the story of you became a legend, and legends became gossips. You were called many names by the time you grew up; daughter of darkness they called you, grim’s princess, kiss of death….

“Your majesty?” your maid Cassandra’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts and you looked up from your drawing, and put the small piece of coal beside you, grabbing your gloves just in case.

“Yes?” 

“Your mother sends for you.”

“Oh.” You wiped at your hands carefully, then put on your gloves, “What for?”

“She said I was to take you to her room,” she stood on her tiptoes to peek at the parchment, “Oh that’s gorgeous, your majesty.”

You pressed your lips together to keep yourself from smiling wide, “You really think so?”

“Oh definitely,” she looked up at you, “Will you gift me one after you’ve finished?”

“You’re the only person who gets to see them, so why not?” you winked at her, “If you find it to your liking, that is.”

“If you weren’t a princess, I say you would be an artist.”

“Don’t let mother hear that,” you murmured, your heart skipping a beat at the thought of it, then got up from your bed to walk to your full length mirror. You smoothed out the skirts of your dress, putting the crown on top of your hair and twirled around to check whether you looked your best, since you knew what sort of speech your mother would give you if she saw any kind of flaw in your appearance.

Cassandra stepped aside instantly as you approached the door, and walked right behind you as soon as you stepped into the hall. You flexed your fingers nervously under the leather gloves, avoiding everyone’s gaze in the hall and trying to ignore the way they all scurried away. It was supposed to be your normal after years and years, but it never failed to send a small surge of icy feeling through your spine.

You wondered whether they knew how lucky they were, to be able to simply touch someone even innocently, and not have them die in seconds right before their eyes.

Probably not. You hadn’t thought about it before you were cursed either.

You had gotten better at pushing that burning jealousy to the back of your mind, though. It was still there, you knew it was, and it got worse each time you saw a happy couple that could kiss each other, or touch each other. You could even hear maids’ whispers about their beloveds, all secretive and scandalous, but-

You did wonder how it would feel. Judging by their whispers, it had to be pure bliss.

The pure bliss that you could only dream of.

You rubbed at your eyes, trying to distract yourself, then nodded at the guards and waited for them to open the door before walking inside.

“Mother,” you said as they closed the door behind you, “How are you? It’s a fine morning, isn’t it? I think the weather-“

“Y/N, you can’t lock yourself in your room the whole day.” She cut you off and you raised your brows.

Straight to the point then.

“I…I’m sorry, I was busy.”

“You should be busy with socializing.”

“It’s a little hard when people I socialize with can drop dead with an accidental touch.” You muttered under your breath, but she heard you.

“Nonsense,” she said, stealing a look at your gloves, “The people know to…keep their distance.”

“But mother, it feels forced-”

“Their discomfort is not your problem.”

“Their discomfort gives me discomfort,” you replied and she shot you a look,

“It shouldn’t,” she said curtly, and you pursed your lips, looking around the room. Even years and years later, you couldn’t help but think you were being punished somehow, for your whole childhood, whenever you were called into your mother’s chambers was to be scolded or worse.

“Am I here to be reprimanded then?” you muttered, “For not going out of my room?”

“Watch your tone,” your mother said, “And no. You’re here because there are certain things you need to know. We have a guest in the court, and…well, your father and I thought you deserved to know of his importance.”

You pulled your brows together, then nodded, “Who is it?”

“A witcher.”

Your head snapped up and you gawked at your mother, “Wh- how-?”

“As you know my dear, our forest has been haunted by so many creatures, all sent by the same witch that-“ she hesitated for a moment, then raised her chin as if she was unaffected, “The same witch that put that wretched curse on you.”

You kept your gaze on her,

“Now there’s no reason for you to talk to his….kind, of course.” She said, “At least unless it’s absolutely necessary. We all know how you can be sometimes-“

“Am I interrupting?” a familiar voice reached inside the room and you turned your head, a smile pulling at your lips almost instantly.

“Fintan.” Your mother said as your brother winked at you, leaning sideways to the doorframe.

“Do you mind if I steal her for a bit, mother?” he asked, “The wet nurse said Tiernan is awake, you’ll be busy with him after all.”

“Alright then.” Your mother said and nodded at you, “Both of you can leave. Tell the nurse to bring Tiernan here.”

“Will do.” Fintan said, and stepped aside so that you could walk out before him, and you let out a breath as soon as the door closed, allowing both of you to be out of your mother’s sight.

“Thank you.”

“Sorry I was late,” he grinned at you, “Some lords keep talking about this trade business we have with….I already forgot the country’s name.”

“How future king of you.”

“Oh don’t remind me,” he made a face, “I swear I was this close to ask you to come inside so that you can just touch my face and end my misery.”

“Fin!”

“You don’t know how boring it was, Y/N!” he said, “Hey, if I’m lucky, Tiernan will want to be the king.”

“Tiernan is barely 9 months old.”

“He has fewer temper tantrums than father though, no?” he asked you, making you giggle,

“Fin, why is that Witcher here?” you asked him, making him stop dead on his tracks and he frowned at you,

“Mother didn’t tell you?”

You shook your head, and his eyes shone with hope,

“Father thinks he can hunt those creatures in the forest.”

“A lot of people died trying, there are too many creatures.”

“I mean he’s paying him a fortune, as well as taking care of his….child, while he’s away? But I heard she’s not really his child, more like he had to take her because her parents were gone, but-“

“Fin.”

“Yeah, anyway,” he waved a hand dismissively, “It’s not just creatures, Y/N. He will hunt down the witch as well, to... to lift your curse.”

The excitement hit you so fast that it knocked the breath off of you, and you covered your mouth, looking up at him with wide eyes, your heart slamming against your ribcage.

“You’re jesting.”

“No.” he shook his head, smiling wide, “Think about it, Y/N. If there’s anyone who could do that, it’s a witcher.”

Hope shot through you faster than you could even breathe and you felt a smile pulling at your lips.

“I would hug you if I could.” You whispered, and Fin looked around, then took out a glove from his pocket, the one that he always carried for you. He pulled it over his hand, then reached out to squeeze your hand, as if trying to assure you.

“Soon, sister. Very soon, I’m sure of it,” he nodded at the small window at the end of the hall, the one that let people take a look into the throne room, “Well I am to be there, but take a look at him if you want. They’re still talking, I think.”

You nodded, then blew a kiss at him and walked to the window. You opened it as discreetly as you could, then leaned your fingertips on the thin rails, taking a peek inside.

The first thing you noticed was how handsome he was. For some reason, you had pictured Witchers like monsters, but nothing about him gave you a sign of any monstrosity, his white hair falling over his shoulders and framing his face was something you hadn’t seen on a person his age before. He was taller than his companions, his posture signaling confidence, even a little annoyance. The little girl by his side looked around the room, her long hair carefully pulled away from her face, but you were soon distracted by his low voice.

“I will take a look into your forest tonight.”

“Nonsense, we would like you to feast with us tonight.” Your father said, “It’s not every day Geralt of Rivia graces our halls, no?”

The man beside the witcher, -a bard, you thought, judging by his instrument- held up a hand, “I would actually love a feast.”

The Witcher shot him a glare, but he didn’t seem affected by it,

“Come on Geralt, I’m hungry, we all are! So is Ciri!”

The girl shrugged slightly, and the Witcher- Geralt heaved a sigh, then his eyes turned to the window as if he had sensed your presence. You held your breath and pulled away from the window, pressing a hand over your chest, then leaned in to steal a look once again.

_That was close_.

“Geralt, my old friend….” The court mage said, “We offer you our hospitality, it would be quite rude if you rejected it. You know that.”

He looked like he was considering to be rude for a moment, then heaved a sigh.

“I’ll see you tonight then,” he nodded at your dad, then smirked slightly as he turned to leave, “Have a nice day, princess.”

Your jaw dropped, and you pulled away from the window again, closing your eyes.

_Fine. Lesson number one learned._

_You can’t sneak up on a Witcher_.


	2. Midnight Whispers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is more complicated at midnight.

You were supposed to be used to whispers.

It was one of the most important things in the court, after all. Everybody who walked these halls knew they needed to keep their voices low and thoughts hidden in order to survive.

From outside, you had to be perfect. No matter what you thought, what you were going through, no matter what your desires were, you had to look absolutely perfect, as if you knew what you were doing, as if every single movement was already practiced.

Free of emotions. Free of anything that could be mistaken with weakness.

You could still remember the slap you had gotten from your mother when you scraped your knee.

_Princesses don’t cry_.

You heaved a sigh, desperate to come back to present instead of dwelling in the past and nodded at the guards to step aside, but as soon as you entered your room, you pulled your brows together.

“What are you doing here?”

Fin sat up in your bed, still holding one of your sketches in his hand, “What does it look like? I’m hiding of course.”

Cassandra shot you an apologetic look as she carried some of your dresses over to one of the sofas by the dressing screen for you to pick and choose for tonight’s feast. You sometimes thought she knew your taste better than you did, because she always managed to get the dresses appropriate for the occasion, usually making it very difficult to choose.

“Hiding?” you crossed your arms, flexing your fingers under your long gloves, “From father?”

“From father and his merry band of lords.”

You scoffed a laugh, shaking your head, “Fin…”

“This is really good by the way,” he held up the parchment, “You’re improving yourself.”

“To no use,” you shrugged, “It’s not like anyone will see them.”

Your brother shot you a look, “I see them,” he told you, “They fill me with a rare found joy, you know that.”

You pressed your lips together, unable to stop yourself from smiling, “Thank you,” you said as you sat on the edge of the bed, careful to leave some space between you just in case, “But it’s not finished yet. Why are you hiding?”

He heaved a sigh, and stole a look at Cassandra, “Cassie, you’re not hearing any of this, right?”

“Of course not, my prince,” she said, still placing the dresses over the sofa, and you smiled.

“What troubles your heart?”

He opened his mouth to answer, then hesitated and shook his head, “Don’t worry.”

“Fin-“

“So we’re having a feast for a Witcher,” he said, the fake interest in his tone could’ve fooled anyone but you as he got up from the bed and walked to the table to fill himself a glass of wine, “Geralt of Rivia. I’ve officially seen everything.”

“Fin….”

“Did you know he and Oisin know each other?” he asked, “Our mage knows a witcher, who knew? They’re old friends apparently, it’s beyond me why anyone would want to be friends with him.”

“Oisin?”

“No, Geralt of Rivia!” he mimicked your father’s voice, “He just….” He waved the glass in the air, as if looking for appropriate words, “Grunts and all. Barely speaks to you, very unfriendly.”

“You tried to be friends with a witcher?” you tilted your head to the right, “For some reason, I’m not surprised it didn’t work.”

“Well, if he will help to get this wretched curse off my sister…” he shrugged, “I will give him even more riches than father offered him, and he offered him a lot.”

You tried to ignore the spark of hope shooting through your system, “We don’t know if he will succeed,” you mumbled and walked to him to extend your hand, motioning him to give you the glass, “It’s afternoon, and you’re already tipsy.”

“I’m getting ready for the feast, so should you,” he downed the wine and gave you the empty glass, making you roll your eyes and place the glass on the table. You walked to the sofa to take a look at the dresses, then grabbed a light blue one but Fin clicked his tongue.

“Not that.”

“Why not?”

“Mother doesn’t like blue. Wear the gold one.”

You hmmed, leaning on your hip and Fin walked towards you,

“Who knows,” he said, “Maybe that bard he keeps with him will write a ballad about your beauty?”

“Out,” you smiled slightly, “Go have a bath, and get ready.”

“Enchantress in gold,” he drummed his fingers on the table to mimic a melody, “Kills you with a touch before you get old…”

“I’m so glad you’re not a bard, I said out.”

“If you be so bold, your body will soon be cold-”

“Out!” you interrupted his made up song, pointing at the door and he let out a laugh, then winked at Cassandra before he walked out of your room. You and Cassandra exchanged glances and you couldn’t help the small laughter escaping from your lips, triggering Cassandra’s own laughter.

“Unbelievable,” you said, grabbing the dress and walking behind the screen, “I guess gold it is.”

* * *

You would be lying if you said you weren’t excited for the feast.

Which made so sense, really. You had been a part of various feasts before, each one similar to another, but for some reason the thought of this one managed to make your stomach do a pleasant flip.

“Your majesty, do you think we’ll see him from a closer distance?” Cassandra asked you as you walked through the narrow hallway, still adjusting your long, satin gloves.

“Hm?”

“The witcher,” she whispered and you raised your brows, a mischievous smile pulling at your lips.

“Why? Do you wish to?”

“I’m curious,” she said, “Are you not?”

You let out a nervous breath as you approached the door, then shrugged.

“Not really, to be honest.” You managed to lie, “Fin implied he was rather rude, I’ll take his word for it.”

With that, you nodded at the guards and they opened the doors for you, letting you pass. Whispers filled the air again, but you managed to ignore them as you walked towards the big table where your family was sitting behind, then took your seat.

“You look nice,” Your mother commented, barely sparing you a glance and you tried to smile.

“Thank you mother, so do you.”

“Told you,” Fin murmured, sipping his drink, and your father turned to you.

“It’s getting rare to catch a sight of you nowadays, Y/N.”

“I know, I was-“

“Forgetting about your responsibilities?” he finished your sentence for you and your head shot up. Thankfully, everyone was too busy with dancing and eating and talking to each other that they weren’t aware of what was happening at your table. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see the bard and the child at one of the tables, but the guest of honor was nowhere to be seen.

“I didn’t forget,” you managed to say, and Fin cleared his throat.

“Everyone needs some time away from this crowd.”

“I would rather not have you comment on this issue, Fintan,” your father snapped, “Both of you have been influencing each other badly, and you’re to be the king, in the future. It’s high time you remember that.”

You could feel Fin getting tense beside you and you closed your eyes for a moment, then opened them.

“You’re right, father. Are those the new musicians, I’ve never-“

“I’m not a child,” Fin cut you off, looking at your father and you bit inside your cheek, apparently your attempts to distract wasn’t working, “Don’t treat me as such.”

“Then don’t act as such.” Your father said and Fin gritted his teeth, then downed his drink and pushed his chair back to walk to the exit. You cleared your throat.

“Excuse me please,” you said, and rushed after him, motioning the guards to close the doors after you.

“Fin!” you called out, making him stop in the hallways, “You know they don’t mean it.”

“Don’t they though?” he asked you, then shook his head, “It’s a wonder how it still surprises me, really.”

“Pay them no mind,” you said, “Do you want to go outside? I need some fresh air.”

“No, I’ll just…” Fin trailed off, “I’d rather be alone for a moment. I’ll see you in the morning.”

You pursed your lips, then squeezed his arm as he patted your hand over the glove, then he walked out of the hallway. You leaned your head back to the wall, letting out a sigh before you started walking to the backyard, desperate for some fresh air.

The chill air hitting your face was so refreshing that you felt your body relax almost instantly. You approached the marble balustrades and took off your gloves, putting them aside before pressing your palms on the cold, smooth surface, letting yourself have a moment of peace before going back there.

But as soon as you turned around you gasped, stopping the shrill scream threatening to leave your lips at the last moment.

“You scared me,” you pressed a hand over your chest, “Sir-Witcher.”

_Sir Witcher?_

You shook your head slightly at your own nonsense, but he didn’t seem bothered by it at all. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, with an expression on his face that was absolutely impossible to read. His clothes were way different than rest of the nobles inside, as if he wanted to emphasize how he wasn’t a part of their crowd, as if he couldn’t be bothered by such matters.

He looked even more handsome now that you were closer to him, making your stomach do a flip, the nervousness hitting you out of nowhere but you managed to scold yourself in your head, it was really not appropriate to have such thoughts about a stranger.

“Geralt,” he corrected you, “Princess.”

“Y/N.” you introduced yourself breathlessly –why were you breathless all of a sudden?

He pushed himself off the wall to take a step closer to you, but out of habit, you took a step back.

“I believe it’s safer for you to keep a distance.” You mumbled, “In- in case you trip.”

“I don’t trip,” he said gruffly and you stole another look at him, biting at your lip.

“You’re not afraid?”

He raised his brows and his lips twitched, as if the mere thought of you being able to hurt him was amusing to him, for some reason. Even you had to admit that right there, under the moonlight, to an outsider you and your carefully stitched gold dress adorned with pearls looked nothing close to dangerous.

“Of you?” his voice was deep and you nodded.

“They must’ve warned you.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, “They did,” he said, “But you don’t look very threatening to me, princess.”

The idea of not being seen as dangerous-especially by a stranger- was so foreign to you that you could barely feel the warm smile pulling at your lips.

“Feast was not to your liking, I assume?” you asked him, but he just grunted under his breath, making you tilt your head, trying to understand what he meant.

“I’ m sorry, I didn’t catch that?”

“I’d rather be by myself than in a feast,”

“I know how that feels.” You said as you put your gloves on, growing hot under his gaze.

“That’s a good solution.”

“What? Oh-“ you shrugged slightly, looking down at your gloves “Small price to pay to be outside.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t lock you up in a tower.”

You tried to smile, “They did, for a while,” you mumbled, trying to calm your heartbeat down, “Do forgive me for disturbing your peace please. I should probably go back inside.”

He said nothing as you took a step, then changed your mind and turned around to see him better.

“You have my gratitude,” you said, looking up at him and realizing for the first time that his eyes were almost golden, “For… accepting to help me. It’s an honor to use your services.”

He frowned slightly, as if he wasn’t used to such a reaction and his gaze captured yours, perhaps to see whether you were lying to him.

“Is that right?” he asked you, his voice low and you could feel your heart slamming against your ribcage as you licked your lips.

“It is,” you said slowly, offering him a small smile, “Even if it fails. Thank you for bringing me hope.”

With that, you walked past him and made your way back inside and as soon as you were sure you were out of his sight, you let out a breath, feeling almost lightheaded.

It took you almost a minute to pull yourself together, then you swallowed thickly, smoothed down the skirts of your dress, threw your shoulders back and walked to the ballroom.

* * *

The next morning when you woke up, you were still feeling a bit strange, so you decided to do the only thing that always managed to calm you down, and left your room in a rush.

You dragged the pencil over the faded parchment, nibbling on your lip while the chestnut horse shook her mane, exhaling as if she was too excited for the apple right beside you.

“Just give me a moment, then it will all be yours,” you told her as you used the small piece of coal to give an illusion of the shadow over her, then stood up from the hay stack to carefully put on a glove, then let her take the apple from you.

“This is treat number one,” you smiled softly as she ate the apple, and you returned to your spot, took your glove off before grabbing the pencil again, but approaching voices distracted you for a moment.

“But I mean, you’ve seen her right?”

“So have you, Jaskier.” Geralt’s exasperated voice reached you, making you sit up straighter and hold your breath. The bard- Jaskier must’ve been his name- let out a huff.

“Yeah for like a second at the feast! You saw her closer and you have your….magic thing.”

He scoffed, “My magic thing?”

“Yeah! Is what they say true?”

“Hm?”

Well, it sounded as if you didn’t really need to take his silence personally, if he was like this with his bard….

“The princess!” Jaskier said, “Is it true? People say her hands have no flesh and only bones, that’s why she wears gloves all the time.”

“You should stop talking to people in that pub.”

“Not all of us have to sulk in a pub like a bear, Geralt.”

“I don’t-“

“I heard half of her face turns into a skull under moonlight.”

You could almost feel the embarrassment sinking into your flesh, burning your whole face but you pressed your lips together, trying to focus on your sketch.

“I heard even if she’s pretty, it’s just a disillusion so that she can enchant you to kill you-“ Jaskier was cut off for some reason, then you heard Geralt’s voice.

“Yeah,” he said, “Do you know what else is true? That she hates bards.”

You frowned slightly, raising your head from the parchment again.

“Now you’re being mean-“

“No it’s true. I heard she killed the last bard in here.”

“Wait, are you serious?!” he exclaimed as he walked into the barn, “Why am I here then?! Geralt- Geralt, I want your word that my wellbeing is-“

“Safe,” you cut him off at the same time Geralt walked into the barn after Jaskier. Jaskier gasped, now realizing you were by the corner, sitting on top of a haystack with your parchment, pencil and coals in your lap, then took a step back.

“Princess.”

“I don’t hate bards,” you tried to smile, “At all. Jaskier, isn’t it? Welcome to the court.”

If you didn’t know any better, you’d say Geralt was trying not to grin at Jaskier’s overly betrayed expression. He shot Geralt a look, then bowed down slightly.

“Your majesty,” he said, then walked out of the barn. You bit inside your cheek, for some reason excitement filling your system but Geralt just walked to the chestnut horse.

“Hello Roach.” He muttered, running his fingers through her mane and you brushed your hair back, barely aware that you had caused a coal smudge over your forehead.

“That’s what they say about me?” you asked after a moment, nervousness crashing down on you and his hand stopped, much to Roach’s disappointment judging by the way she snorted.

“People believe in anything they don’t see,” he answered without turning to look at you, “It’s been a while since they saw their princess, I assume.”

“I’m not allowed to go outside the court.”

To that, you earned a surprised look that he threw over his shoulder, and you shrugged slightly,

“For their safety.” You managed to say, “I don’t wish to hurt anybody. I guess gossips are the price I pay for that. Enchantress skeleton or not.”

He scoffed slightly, still brushing over Roach’s mane, and you nibbled on your lip.

“I don’t believe anyone would recognize who I was if I stepped outside,” you muttered, then put your supplies aside and got off the haystack. You dusted off your skirts even if you knew it was to no avail, put your gloves on and took a tentative step towards him after grabbing the small apple by the haystack.

“Your horse has been quite helpful,” you told him and put the apple on the ground just in case he was tense about touching you even with the gloves on, then took a step back, “As my thank you.”

He pulled his brows together, then bent down to grab the apple before he offered it to Roach, who happily accepted it.

“You look like a servant girl, princess.” he commented and you scrunched up your nose for a moment, trying to get rid of the hay in your hair and on your dress.

“Not like a monster then?” you mumbled and he raised his brows, looking you up and down, making you avert your gaze for a moment.

“I’ve seen many monsters,” he said, making your eyes snap up to his gold ones, “None as polite, for starters. You have nothing in common.”

You could feel the fire on your face, your heart beating in your ears, but before you could say anything, your brother’s voice reached your ears.

“What on earth-?” he asked, making both of you turn to him and you instantly took a step back.

“Fin.”

“Sister,” he grinned, “Witcher.”

Geralt just hmmed to acknowledge him before turning his attention to Roach and Fin tilted his head, leaning on the doorway.

“You know what we should do, Y/N?” he asked, “We should walk right through the main hall, so that everyone can see you like this and finally let me be the better sibling.”

You snorted a laugh, “What? Do I look that bad?”

“You will scream once I get you in front of a mirror.” He pointed back with his thumb, “Come on. Mother will have a heart attack if she sees you like this.”

You heaved a sigh, then licked your lips nervously,

“Thank you for the lovely company, Geralt.” You said softly before following Fin outside and he shot you a look, his jaw dropping.

“Thank you for the lovely company Geralt,” he mimicked your voice, all high pitched, making you kick at his ankle with your boot.

“Shut up.”

“What lovely company, the man consists of grunts and maybe one word answers?”

“Shut it I said.”

“I mean if he didn’t run away at this sight,” he motioned at you, “Hay in your hair, smudge on your face-“

“What smudge?” you asked him, wiping at your face and he clicked his tongue as you walked inside, making your way to your room using one of the deserted halls.

“Maybe that’s his thing. Every man has a thing, right? Maybe his thing is…. Crazy looking women who look like they’re on a run because they stole a princess’ dress.”

“What are you even talking about?” you asked him, but then turned around to look at the full length mirror, and your eyes widened.

Fin had a point, really. You looked nothing like a princess, but more like a busy servant girl, with a coal smudge over your cheekbone, your hair all wild with pieces of hay stuck in it, your dress’ skirts crinkly due to you sitting at the barn for hours.

And Geralt had actually seen you like this.

You could feel your heart sink with disappointment as well as embarrassment and Fin threw himself on your bed.

“So since he’s still alive, I take it there was no kiss?”

“Shut up, Fin.”

* * *

After a long bath, and making sure you did not in fact smell like the barn nor have any proof of you being there on you, you could finally relax and get ready for bed. Cassandra was excused for the night, Fin was probably drinking somewhere, so you were free to be alone with your thoughts.

You sat down onto the seat in front of the mirror, grabbed your ivory comb and the small vial of liquid, then spilled some onto the comb and started running it through your hair, humming a song.

What did Fin mean with what he had said earlier? No kiss?

That was ridiculous, of course. Ridiculous, and impossible, and-

You weren’t even supposed to think about it.

Not only was it completely inappropriate, it was also-

No. No way.You didn’t get that. Even if you wanted to, you could never-

,Besides, even if you wanted to, you were sure that he wouldn’t want to.

You shook your head slightly, and grabbed another vial to spill some onto your wrists and rub them together, the scent of lavender right before the bed always made you have a good night’s sleep.

The crackle of the pieces of wood in the fireplace was the only sound in the room as you walked to blow out all the candles but one, then shed your dressing gown, the thin fabric of your nightgown soft against your skin as you climbed to bed, and pulled the covers over you.

Oh, Fin had to be mad to even think such a thing was possible.

Besides, even if you wanted to kiss him, so what? It wasn’t like you could do such a thing, not without killing him, or getting rejected and having your heart broken.

You had a feeling lavender wouldn’t be enough to put you to sleep this time.

You huffed out to yourself, turning in bed but then sat up when someone knocked on the door. Frowning to yourself, you looked around to see what Cassie had forgot in your room before kicking the covers off of you and walking to the door.

“Cassie, it’s late-“ you started as you opened the door, the wind of your action making the flame of the candle tremble, but as soon as you saw the figure at your doorstep, you stopped talking.

Okay. This just had to be a dream.

That was it. You were thinking about Fin’s nonsense, and you must’ve fallen asleep because of the lavender and-

That had to be it, because there was no way Geralt could actually be at your doorstep right now.

He looked as surprised at the fact that he was standing there as you were. Even through your shock, you could tell your surprise was written all over your face before you snapped out of it and took a step back just in case you were too close, just in case you could hurt him. The warmth and the pleasant smell of the dimly lit room surrounded you, in contrast to brighter, colder hallway he was standing in.

It was different like day and night.

“Geralt,” you managed to say, “Is everything alright?”

His gaze stopped on you for a moment, making that burning spread over your face once again before he nodded.

“You-uh… you forgot this, at the barn.” He said, pulling the parchment from his pocket and you looked down at it.

It was the sketch you were working on today, the sketch of Roach.

“Oh,” you said breathlessly, then turned your head to see if your gloves were anywhere you could see them, but it was way too dark. The small movement must have caused the pleasant scent of lavender to reach him, because he took a deep breath almost without realizing it before clearing his throat.

“Don’t move your hand please.” you warned him as you held the parchment from the other side, then gently pulled it from his grip, “Thank you.”

“Did I wake you?”

“No,” you shook your head, “No of course not.”

He pulled his brows together, as if scolding himself in his head.

“It’s a nice drawing,” he said after a moment, and your head snapped up,

“Really?”

“Yeah. Roach seemed to like it too.”

You couldn’t help the small giggle escaping from your lips, “Well, please give her my gratitude for her kindness,”

He nodded slowly, then stole a look at you, “Why did you draw her?”

“It’s um- it’s as close as I get to….touch things,” you tried to explain, “Sort of like touching someone’s shadow, if you ask me. That gives me the gift of being closer, without putting anyone or anything in danger.”

“And that’s enough for you?”

You nibbled on your bottom lip, then shrugged.

“It has to be.” you said, “Considering the lack of other options, that is.”

A silence fell upon you for a moment, letting you look up at him before lowering your gaze again.

“I should leave you be,” he said after a couple of seconds as if he was waking up from some sort of a dream, his voice barely audible to you because of your loud heartbeat in your ears, “Good night, princess.”

“Good night,” you said softly, and closed the door, then closed your eyes and leaned back to the door, holding the parchment over your chest.

What was wrong with you, really?


	3. Small Favors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hallways hold many secrets.

You were having the best dream of your life before you were forcefully woken up by your insufferable brother who had apparently made a promise to himself not to let you be happy, even in your dreams.

The very familiar white hair falling over your face, tickling you as his deep whisper in your ear made you gasp, the warmth spreading from the pit of your stomach-

All before the door slammed open with a bang and the bliss disappeared like the flame of a candle in the storm.

“Good morning sister!” Fin’s overly loud voice reached you, making your eyes snap open and you tried to catch your breath, your heart still pacing. You could feel the burning in your cheeks but the happiness of the dream turned so sour so fast that it even gave you a head spin.

“What?!” you snapped, sitting up straight in the huge bed, and Fin tilted his head.

“Someone’s grumpy.”

“Your highness, I tried to stop him.” Cassandra said and Fin, the future king of the country, the man who would have to join wars and make very important decisions, pouted.

“Cassie likes me better than you.”

“I don’t appreciate being woken up like this,” you said through your teeth, still trying to come down from the dream, trying your hardest to ignore the goosebumps on your skin.

“You don’t want to see your favorite brother?”

“Tiernan is asleep.” You managed to snark and he gasped, his jaw dropping.

“You wouldn’t prefer that brat over me.”

“That brat is our brother.”

“Our brother who can’t talk yet,” he reminded you, “No reason to favor him.”

“I don’t know Fin, a brother who can’t talk sounds really good to me right now.”

“Why are you in such a pleasant mood?” he asked, and you kicked off the covers, then made your way to the window to open it wide, letting the breeze caress your skin. It felt good to the fire on your face when you remembered what the dream was about and you bit inside your cheek.

“I haven’t had much sleep last night.” You managed to say, “I had uh…. nightmares.”

“Of the curse?”

“Mm hm,” you nodded fervently, “Yeah. Absolutely. They- they were not pleasant at all.”

“I got that from _nightmares_.” Fin said, shooting you a look, “Perhaps you should go to the healer again.”

“Hm?”

“For your night terrors. Didn’t he give you something?”

“Lavender,” you said, “The scent is calming.”

“Tell him to give you something you can actually take, rather than smell.”

You leaned back to the window, crossing your arms. “Maybe.”

“And hey,” he took a step towards you, “Whatever you see at night…. You know that’s not real right?”

For some reason it hurt you more than it was supposed to, but you tried to smile.

“Yes,” you mumbled, “I know it can never be real.”

“Good,” Fin clapped his hands together, “Now, are you going to sulk in bed the whole day?”

You exchanged glances with Cassie, then heaved a sigh,

“Why? What excuse do you need?”

“I need you to keep mother and father away from me today.”

“Why?”

“I just need you to distract them if they ask about me.”

“Why?” you asked again and he clicked his tongue, then walked to the door.

“I’m waiting outside, get dressed.”

“Fin-“ you started but he was already out of the room, so you rubbed your eyes and turned to Cassandra.

“Do you know what’s happening?”

“I’ve heard things,” she said and you raised your brows.

“Which are?”

“Servants talk.”

You tilted your head, “Cassie.”

“I think your father is planning to….” She took a deep breath, “I think you might have a sister-in-law in near future.”

Your eyes widened, “What?” you exclaimed, all traces of your dream leaving your mind, “Wh- really?”

“A lot of servants are heartbroken, as you might imagine.”

You closed your eyes for a moment, then shook your head and grabbed the nearest dress.

“Great,” you grumbled to yourself as you walked behind the dressing screen, “Should be a fun day.”

* * *

“Did you know that we’re getting portraits?” Fin asked you as you walked beside him in the yard, to the stables, “Yes. You heard that right. We will get portraits to choose from.”

You made a face, but let him rant.

“I mean…. My betrothed died a winter ago.”

You felt your heart skip a beat, but tried to shake it off.

“I don’t mean to make it sound unimportant, because it’s sad, but you met her only once, and that was when you were nine years old,” you pointed out and he threw his hands up, exasperated.

“At least I knew who she was, Y/N!” he said, walking into the stables and you shook your head.

“There must be a system where-“ you started, but stopped dead on your tracks when you saw Geralt sitting by Roach, sharpening his sword. He looked up as soon as he heard your voice, and you could swear your whole face was on fire, the memory of the dream flashing before your eyes.

“Witcher, hello. You’re here again,” Fin grumbled, and turned to you. “You were saying?”

“I-“ you stammered, trying to ignore Geralt’s silent presence and focus on your brother, “There must be a system where you can actually meet these people before you get married.”

“They do have that system, it’s called being a commoner.”

“I doubt it’s like that with every commoner,” you thought out loud, “Maybe not like this, but… I mean people should at least like each other to get married.”

Fin snorted, walking to his horse, “Gods, can you imagine if mother and father liked each other? Geralt, you’re not hearing any of this.”

You tried to calm your heartbeat down, but Geralt didn’t even dignify Fin’s nonsense with an answer.

“I mean they must,” you shrugged, “At least a little. They had us-they just had Tiernan.”

“They hate each other’s guts,” he corrected you, “It’s like looking into my future.”

“Don’t think like that.”

“What if whoever I get married to just…” he waved a hand in the air, looking for words, “What if she smells bad?”

You pulled your brows together, “What?”

“What if she chews with her mouth open?”

“Um-?”

He gasped, “Y/N, what if she’s unattractive?”

You shot him a glare, “Yes Fin, because that’s the worst thing that could ever happen in this situation.” You reprimanded him, “What if she’s pretty, but cruel?”

“What if she’s not pretty and cruel?” he thought out loud and you threw your head back, letting out a very unlady-like groan.

“What if she doesn’t find you attractive, Fin?” you asked him, “Have you ever thought of that?”

“Why wouldn’t she? I’m handsome.”

You rolled your eyes, heaving a deep sigh and Fin shook his head slightly,

“Not one person thinks of asking me if I have someone in my heart.” He murmured and you raised your head, gawking at him in shock.

“Fin…” you started, but he snapped out of it almost instantly, climbing on his horse.

“Geralt, if you somehow die while hunting that witch, you’re allowed not to attend my wedding,” he said and cantered the horse out of the barn, without looking back. You leaned back to the wall, rubbing your eyes.

“I apologize on his behalf,” you managed to say, then turned to look at Geralt who was watching you, almost amused, “He’s very….emotional.”

He just hmmed, turning his attention to his sword he was sharpening, “Someone should tell him there are worse fates than marrying a princess who chews with her mouth open.”

“There’s no princess who chews with her mouth open,” you stated, “I once had the misfortune of telling mother no while eating something when I was five, to this day I’m still terrified.” 

He scoffed slightly, shaking his head and you snapped your fingers to get Roach’s attention.

“Hi Roach,” you said as she shook her mane, moving back and forth as if she wanted to come to you. You pressed your lips together, flexing your fingers under your gloves.

“You’re worried,” Geralt said and you turned your head, then tried to smile.

“No, I just…” you fixed your gloves, “I don’t believe it’s fair to him and his future wife.”

He stood up from where he was sitting to walk to Roach to pet her in order to calm her down, “Your brother will be a king, will he not? Kings take lovers all the time.”

“That’d be very heartbreaking for his queen.”

“Queens take lovers all the time as well.”

Your jaw dropped and you could feel the pins and needles of embarrassment sinking into your cheeks, “I- that’s- I’m sure you’re wrong.”

He chuckled to himself, curling his lips, “Alright,” he murmured, as if humoring you and you forced yourself to stick your nose in the air, stealing a look at him.

“I’d hear of it,”

“Would you?”

“Everyone would hear of it.” You insisted, “That would be very frowned upon.”

“And you’d never do anything that is frowned upon, princess.” He muttered under his breath, still busy with brushing Roach’s mane and you gawked at him before smoothing over your skirts.

“Well forgive me if I dream of loyalty.”

“Is that the only thing you dream of?” he asked you and you actually thought your heart dropped to your stomach, suddenly all the air in the barn leaving the place.

No. No way. Witcher or not, there was no way he could know about your dreams-

You would actually die of embarrassment if he did, you were sure of it.

“Wh-what?” you asked, your voice a pitch higher now and he shot you a questioning look, as if he didn’t know why your reaction had suddenly changed. You shook your head slightly, trying to keep your breathing under control.

“I’d- I should- I should go.” You managed to say and turned around to leave, “Have a good day-“

“Princess, wait,” he said and you stopped dead on your tracks, closing your eyes for a moment before opening them again and turning around.

“Yes?” you asked and he took a deep breath.

“Would you-“ he hesitated, clenching his jaw, and then cleared his throat, “I have a favor to ask.”

Judging by how tense he was, you could just tell he wasn’t very used to asking for favors, so you nodded.

“Name it and it’s yours,” you said quickly “I will make sure of it.”

“While I’m not here, but in your forest,” he said, “I’d like somebody to keep an eye on Ciri.”

You tried to remember, then your head shot up, “The little girl with you,” you said, “Your child.”

“My surprise child,” he corrected you and you tilted your head.

“Oh.”

You had heard about surprise children before, they were the children that a family owed to another person basically, by the law of surprise.

“Yeah.”

“I would love to, of course, but-“ you hesitated, “Are you sure it’s a good idea? It might be dangerous, and if she’s scared of me-“

“Ciri isn’t really scared of anyone.” He brushed you off and you smiled slightly.

“What of your bard? He doesn’t want to keep an eye on her?”

“Jaskier?” he asked you, “He can talk people to exhaustion at best, in time of danger.”

Realization dawned on you, “And I can make people drop dead,” you muttered, “I see.”

For a moment, he looked like he was battling with himself but eventually he heaved a sigh,

“It’s not the only reason,” he said lowly, “I…don’t trust many people in this court.”

The unsaid _except you_ hung in the air, making your heart skip a beat and you smiled.

“Very well then,” you said, “What does she like?”

“Hm?”

“What are her interests?”

He pulled his brows together, “Uh-she….” He trailed off, as if he was trying to find something and you tilted your head, waiting patiently.

“Playing?” he thought out loud, but his tone signaled that he had no idea what he was talking about, “She’s a child so… Playing games?”

You tried not to laugh, then nodded, “Or perhaps I should ask her,” you said in order to save him from the misery and he stole a look at you before Roach bumped her head to his chest, immediately making him turn his attention to her.

“Sure,” he muttered, and you clasped your hands.

“Alright then. I should go and find her.”

“Princess-“ his voice stopped you just when you were about to take a step and you looked up at him silently.

“Thank you,” he said after a couple of seconds, and you felt a smile warm your face,

“My pleasure.” You told him, “Have a nice day, Geralt.”

With that, you walked out of the barn, your face still feeling like it was on fire.

* * *

It was almost too easy to dodge your parents, really. The best thing about this court was that you knew every single hidden hallway and every corner, so when you didn’t want to be found, it was impossible for them to find you, just like when you were a child.

Befriending Ciri had been even easier than that. She reminded you of Fin a little when he was still a child, it was more than obvious that she did not like any of the court business, and was more interested in anything else. May it be looking at your drawings, reading, or playing with marbles...

“I lost my touch!” Cassie threw her hands up when Ciri won another game of marbles, and shook her head slightly, “I used to be so good at this.”

You lifted your head from your parchment and looked up from the sketch, “There’s a reason why I don’t even try.”

“You should try,” Ciri said and you arched a brow.

“Are you only saying that so that you can beat me too?”

She grinned at you, “Maybe.” She said but before you could say anything else, the door opened.

“Over here, gentlemen!” Fin’s voice reached you and Cassie stepped out of the way while Ciri sat up straighter, trying to figure out what was happening.

“Fin, what are you doing?” you asked as two guards carried some covered paintings into your room, making you frown. Fin shrugged slightly.

“I thought you should see my suitors.”

“They’re not your suitors.”

“Fine, you should see my future wife, since she’s….” he motioned at the paintings, “Over there somewhere- are those my marbles?”

“Yes they are, you haven’t touched them since you were a child- and this is Ciri, our guest.” You introduced them as the guards left and Ciri smiled at him.

“Hello.”

“Hi there.” Fin said, “You like marbles?”

“Yes.”

“Finally there’s a child in this court that’s not annoying, move aside I’ll show you the tricks- see, Tiernan isn’t like this at all.”

“Maybe because Tiernan isn’t a child Fin, he’s a baby.” You replied as he made himself comfortable beside Ciri, grabbing a marble.

“He’s still annoying.”

“He’s a baby.”

“He doesn’t like me.”

“He’s a baby!” you repeated, making Ciri laugh and you put your hands on your hips, walking to the paintings.

“They actually sent paintings,” you said, “I thought you were joking.”

“I wish I were.”

“Did you look at them?”

Fin took his shot and missed, sucking in a breath as Ciri giggled and grabbed another marble.

“I thought you were going to show me tricks, not the other way around,” she told him, making his jaw drop.

“Okay, you know what brat? It’s on.”

You shook your head slightly at them, exchanging glances with Cassie, “Fin? Did you look at them?”

“I’m not drunk enough,” he answered, “Besides, none of them will be as beautiful as Cassie here, so…”

“Yes, and it’s a tragedy you can’t marry me my prince.” Cassie said mischievously, making Fin clutch his heart.

“You break my heart for the hundredth time Cassie,” he said as you approached one of the paintings, then pulled the fabric to reveal the painting.

“Who painted this?” you asked slowly, “They didn’t do a good job at all.”

“Well, good thing I’m not going to marry the artist then, Y/N.” Fin pointed out, then nodded at the table, “There. The papers there talk about their countries and our alliances and all that- No! Did you just cheat?!”

You grabbed the papers from the table, then tilted your head.

“Princess Elissa.” You read out loud, “Oh their borders are close to ours- their agriculture sources sound really good too.”

“Yeah,” Fin deadpanned, “We shall have the biggest love story, with our combined agricultural sources.”

You grabbed the wine and filled your glass before taking a sip, trying your hardest to ignore the uncomfortable feeling at the pit of your stomach.

“Maybe she’s nice.”

“Yes!” Fin cheered as his marble hit the target, “This is it- see, I was just warming up.”

“Whatever, you’ll lose the next round.”

“I’m rooting for her.” Cassie said and Fin shot her a look.

“You’re so cruel, breaking my heart twice in a day.”

You took a huge sip from your wine again, keeping your eyes on the painting, but before you could say anything else, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” you called out, thinking it was one of the servants your mother had sent to tell you to get ready for dinner, but through Ciri and Fin’s very loud banter and Cassie’s cheering, you heard Jaskier’s voice.

“How are they having more fun than I am?”

You whirled around to see Jaskier and Geralt standing at the door, and Geralt smirked slightly.

“Don’t worry Jaskier, you’ll have fun when you see the monsters tonight,” he said, making your heart skip a beat and turned to Ciri, “You’re alright?”

“Yeah,” she said and shot him a smile, “You didn’t tell me there were people here who are much more fun than you two.”

“You take that back-“ Jaskier started but Geralt frowned slightly, the painting catching his attention,

“Is that Princess Elissa?”

Fin looked up, “Yes?” he said, “Might be my future wife. Why?”

Geralt hesitated for a moment, “Her late husband had an untimely and….suspicious death.” He stated and you and Fin gawked at each other before Fin snapped his fingers.

“I mean if she will put me out of my misery, yes to Princess Elissa.”

“No to Princess Elissa!” you pointed at him, “Don’t even think about it. Geralt, may I speak with you for a moment?”

He nodded and you walked past Jaskier who looked very focused on Cassandra, then stepped out of the room. You leaned back to the wall, still holding the glass tightly in your hand as he approached you.

“She looks like she’s having fun.”

“She’s really nice,” you said, “And…thank you about the- Princess Elissa. Did she kill her husband?”

“No one can prove,” he shrugged, and you bit on your lip.

“So are you-“ you took a deep breath, “Are you going into the woods now?”

He nodded, and your heart dropped to your stomach, even if you knew that was coming. That was the reason why your father had called him here after all, but-

“It’s full of monsters, not just one,” you said quickly, “And a lot of people who walked in there didn’t walk out.”

“You sound worried, princess.”

You swallowed thickly,

“I am,” you admitted, “Very much so. It would break my heart if-“ you hesitated for a moment, stealing a look at him, “If you weren’t careful.”

That got him silent for a moment before he took a deep breath, then extended his hand to get your glass of wine from you. You carefully let him take it from your grip, and watched him as he turned the glass to take a sip from the same spot you had just now, pressing his lips on the same place your lips had been a couple of seconds ago.

Almost like a kiss, but not quite.

You could hear your heart pounding in your ears as you took the glass from him again, looking up at him in silence before he licked his lips.

“Jaskier, come on!” he called out, already walking away and Jaskier left your chambers, rushing after him. You let out a breath, trying your hardest to ignore how your legs were shaky all of a sudden.

“Oh I need another drink,” you muttered to yourself, downed the wine and made your way back into your chambers.


	4. Heart Of Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warmth turns cold fast.

You could barely see Geralt in the following days. Aside from when he had come to your room to get Ciri after that first night, your parents had basically drowned you in court duties. Your days were almost the same lately, attend to your duties, help your mother plan a possible feast, deal with Fin’s moods and calm him down about his potential marriage and at night Geralt was going into the woods to hunt down the monsters.

Which left you no time to see him, other than when you were surrounded by people.

Not that you could do anything even if you were alone anyway.

But to say that you were frustrated would be almost underestimation.

“Is Fin really getting married?” Ciri asked you as you raised your head from the needlework.

“Hm?”

“Fin. Is he getting married soon?”

You heaved a sigh, then put the embroidery down. Your mother had this bright idea to have you prepare some beautiful looking designs to put over the guests’ beds, so naturally, you had been suffering for days.

You would much rather go back to your sketches.

“It’s just a visit.”

“But will he meet his future wife?”

“She’s not coming,” you shook your head, “Not this time anyway. It’s just some ambassadors.”

“Still, he will marry her?”

You pressed your lips together, “Probably yes,” you muttered, and Ciri sucked in a breath.

“He doesn’t look happy about that.”

“That’s understandable. Not having a choice is the worst thing in the world, if you ask me.”

“But not you, right?”

“Not me?”

“They won’t marry you off?”

You felt your heart drop, “I-“ you started, but thankfully someone knocked on the door, then opened it when you told them to come in.

And just like that, your heartbeat got faster.

“Princess,” Geralt greeted you, “Come on Ciri.”

Ciri pulled her brows together, “I’m busy.”

“You’re just sitting there.”

She heaved a sigh, then shot you a look as if she wanted your help but you raised your hands, gesturing surrender.

“I’ll see you later.”

“You’re still teaching me how to draw, right? Tomorrow?”

“Of course, don’t be late.” You winked at her and she smiled, then walked out of the room. Geralt lingered for a moment, as if he couldn’t decide what to do, and cleared his throat.

“You’re teaching her how to draw?”

“She wanted to learn,” you said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be sitting away from her, and we will have our own pencils.”

He nodded slowly and you put the embroidery on the table, then stood up.

“How about you?”

“I don’t know how to draw.”

“Not that!” you let out a laugh, “I mean….the woods. You’re- you’re being careful?”

He nodded again and his gaze focused on you, probably remembering the same thing as you.

“The witch that cursed you,” he said, “It’s possible that she’s at the heart of the woods. In order to get to her, I will have to get rid of her monsters first.”

“Oh. Well please know that I keep you in my prayers-“ you started but Cassandra knocked on the door, then stepped into your room,

“Your highness, your mother wants to see you.”

You rolled your eyes and Geralt-

_Did he just smile?_

It must’ve been your mind playing tricks on you.

“I will leave you be,” he said, “Have a nice day princess.”

“You too Geralt,” you smiled softly, biting down on your lip and he left your chambers. You took a look at your reflection in the mirror.

“How do I look?”

“Like she will not criticize you,” Cassie told you and you put the crown over your head.

“If only…” you mumbled and put your gloves on, then followed her to your mother’s chambers.

“You should braid your hair more,” was the first thing your mother had said when she saw you and you and Cassandra exchanged glances. She mouthed _sorry_ and you shook your head slightly, then turned to your mother.

“Good morning mother.”

“How is embroidery going?” she motioned you to sit down and you grabbed the cup of tea on the table after sitting down.

“It’s going well.”

“What about Fin?”

You raised your brows, “What about him?” you asked her and she heaved a sigh.

“It’s come to my attention that he’s not very….content with this arrangement.”

“He’s just worried,” you managed to say, “It’s not been long since he lost his betrothed.”

“They met once.”

“Well,” you trailed off, “There’s comfort in familiar, I suppose. He’s worried that they will not like each other.”

“What does liking each other has anything to do with this?” she asked you and you pressed your lips together.

“Of course,” you muttered, “Who would want to like the person they’re marrying? Such an insane thought.”

“Y/N, sarcasm doesn’t suit a lady.”

“I just-“ you rubbed at your eyes, “Considering he will spend his life with her, I can’t help but think it’s not such an idle worry.”

“Don’t think that way,” your mother warned you, “You know why you shouldn’t think that way.”

You could almost feel the ice making its way through your veins but you took another sip and stood up,

“I’d better find him,” you told her, “I will tell him you’re concerned about his behavior. Have a nice day, mother.”

With that, you left her chambers as if someone was chasing you, and Cassie rushed to catch up with you.

“Please tell me he’s at least in court.” You told her and she heaved a sigh,

“He is. You will not like the state he’s in, though.”

* * *

Cassandra was right as always. When you got into Fin’s room, his curtains were drawn and he was still in bed, with heavy covers pulled over his figure. You leaned on your hip, then went to yank the curtains open, making him groan in bed.

“Go away…”

“No, get up,” you told him, “I mean it, Fin. It’s almost noon.”

Fin opened his eyes, and tilted his head, looking at Cassandra, “Are you an angel?”

“I can’t help you at this point, my prince.”

“Sit up,” you snapped your fingers, then filled a glass of water, before giving it to Cassie carefully so that she could give it to him, “Fin, drink that water, I’ll ask the maids to draw you a bath. You need to sober up.”

“I am sober,” Fin grumbled, “Unfortunately.”

“Mother asked me about you.”

“Great,” he muttered and sat up in the bed, “Cassie, come sit beside me.”

“I won’t.”

“It’s treason to break your future king’s heart.”

Cassie scoffed a laugh, “No it’s not,” she said, “And you smell….not so nice right now, my prince.”

Fin’s jaw dropped, and you sat by the foot of the bed, leaning your back to one of the columns. “I know you’re upset,” you told him, “But you can’t keep getting drunk because of this.”

“Why not?” he shot you a bitter smile, “I’m the future king, aren’t I? I can do whatever I want, except choosing my lover.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose, “When did you come back?”

“Hm?”

“When did you come back to your chambers? Did anyone see you?”

“Couple of guards,” he waved a hand in the air, then kicked off the covers and walked to the table to fill himself another glass of water. “It’s fine. They won’t tell anyone.”

“You and I both know mother and father will hear about it.”

“What are they going to do Y/N? Punish me?” he asked and you heaved a sigh.

“I hate seeing you like this,” you muttered and his gaze turned to you, his eyes softening in a moment.

“Don’t worry,” he assured you and took a huge sip of his water, “I’m just… I’ll be fine. It’s not the worst thing our beloved parents have done, is it?”

You bit down on your lip, then looked up at him, “Where were you then?”

“Last night?”

“Yes.”

He tilted his head, “You will scold me.”

“I will scold you either way.”

Fin mumbled something under his breath and both you and Cassie leaned in to hear better,

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I really didn’t.”

He heaved a sigh, stealing a look at Cassie, then turned to you, “I was at a brothel.”

You threw your head back, letting out a groan, “Fintan!”

“No one saw me-“

“You’re the future king, and you still visit brothels?” you asked crossly and he grinned at Cassie.

“This changes nothing between us, right?”

“We didn’t have anything between us to begin with, my prince.”

“Unbelievable,” you murmured, and Fin tilted his head,

“Okay, if you’re going to scold me just for going to a brothel, you have another chamber you should also visit.”

You frowned slightly, “What?”

“I saw the Witcher on his way out,” he said, making your head snap up, “He was leaving as I arrived.” 

Oh.

_Oh_. Right.

You could swear someone had just somehow reached into your chest and twisted your heart but you managed to keep your expression still.

“What do I care about that?” you heard yourself ask and Fin looked down at his glass, then cleared his throat,

“Cassie, love of my life,” he said, “Would you mind giving me a moment with my sister?”

Cassie nodded and left the room almost immediately, then Fin turned to you,

“I’m sad, not blind.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking of.” You answered quickly, and he tilted his head.

“You forget you’re not the only sibling who can read the other.”

“Geralt and me?” you scoffed, trying your hardest to ignore the burning on your cheeks, “Please. You’re still drunk.”

“I see the way you look at him,” he said, “I see the way he watches you.”

“He doesn’t watch me, Fin.”

“I’m sure you think he doesn’t.” he told you, then leaned in slightly, “Oh my sweet, lovely sister, never fall in love. It’ll rip your fucking heart out.”

You tried to swallow the lump in your throat, then shook your head slightly,

“Okay, you need to talk to me,” you told him, “Who is it? Who broke your heart?”

Fin just smiled at you calmly, then Cassie opened the door,

“My apologies for interrupting, but… there’s a guard here, who says your father wishes to see you my prince.”

Fin shrugged slightly, then turned to you, “If you’ll excuse me, I need to be scolded by someone who looks much less pretty than you.”

“We will talk about this,” you pointed at him, “You hear me? You and I, alone.”

“I need to attend to my duties since I’m a very responsible person unlike you sister, sorry!” he called out as he left the room and you groaned, then fell back on his bed.

* * *

You had absolutely no right to be angry at Geralt, and you were very much aware of it.

He was a free man after all. And you couldn’t possibly-

You couldn’t expect him to return your feelings, obviously.

So what you were going to do was that, you were going to ignore your feelings, ignore your heartbreak, try your hardest not to picture him in that brothel and keep your distance.

Keeping distance was what you were good at anyway.

So you decided that you were just going to stay inside for the day, and managed to do so, in fact, you were on your second sketch when the door was knocked.

“Yes?” you said without looking up, as the door opened.

“Princess, have you seen-“ Geralt’s voice made your heart beat faster as always, but this time fury was laced in your system for some reason, so when you raised your glances, there was no sign of the warmth from earlier, “…Ciri?”

You raised your brows, “I’m sorry?”

“I can’t find Ciri, I thought she might be here.”

“She’s not.” Your voice reminded you of your mother’s now, cold and calm, and very different than your own, “She sometimes plays with the cook’s children by the kitchen.”

“Alright,” he said, but didn’t move. You tapped the pencil on the table, looking up at him.

“Was there something else, Sir Geralt?”

He blinked for a couple of times, then frowned, “Did something happen?”

“Like what?”

Even you knew you were being very petty and immature, and this was not an attitude fit to a princess at all, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care, not when you were that furious.

Geralt stayed silent, as if trying to figure out what was wrong with you, but you cleared your throat,

“We will probably have another feast soon to honor our guests,” you said, “I was trying to find the best time for dessert so that I can tell the cook, but I’m quite confused. Would you like to attend the feast before or after you visit the brothel?”

He raised his brows, as if you had caught the infamous witcher off guard and you tilted your head, then stood up to fill yourself a glass of wine.

“We would hate to meddle with your nightly plans after all.” You stated and he swallowed, then cleared his throat.

“You-“

“It’s a place in demand, my brother likes it there as well.”

He clenched his jaw, as if he was annoyed all of a sudden, and you put your glass on the table, then smiled at him sweetly. 

“I was thinking of pudding,” you said, “After all, it is very obvious that satisfaction of the guests in this court tend to be easily and _very_ cheaply sated. Not selective at all.”

If you didn’t know any better, you would’ve thought you had managed to shock him. You eyed him up and down, then turned around to walk to the table,

“Thank you, Sir Geralt. You’ve been most helpful, you’re excused.”

With that, the guards closed the door to your chambers, leaving him outside and you closed your eyes, then sat down to your chair, trying your hardest to ignore how you had just pursed your lips like a pouting child.

* * *

Time flew by when you were avoiding people.

And you were avoiding a lot of people.

Fin looked considerably better in the following days, at least. He was beginning to go back to his usual self, slowly but surely, and you had managed to completely focus on other things, whether it was planning the feast, your art, or spending time with Ciri.

It could’ve been peaceful, if your thoughts would allow you to have such a thing.

“Y/N, where’s your brother?” your mother asked as you fixed your gloves, then downed your wine and motioned for another.

“Fin?”

“Obviously Fin.”

“Um-“ you frowned slightly, trying to focus and not look at Geralt who was standing by the corner with a cup of ale in his hand, while Jaskier tuned his instrument, and other people chattered while eating their dinner. “He- he was in his chambers.”

“When?”

“Just now,” you said, “I talked to him before dinner.”

“Let’s hope he’s not in a brothel again,” your father muttered and your mother heaved a sigh.

“That boy…” she muttered, “You should talk to him again, Y/N.”

“You’re the one who picked his future bride,” you reminded her, but then pressed your lips together “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-“

“Please tell me you’re not being influenced by your brother,” your mother warned you, “It’s already unacceptable, what Fintan is doing.”

You took a huge sip of your wine, then clicked your tongue.

“I could go and see if he’s hungry.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, we can send a servant-“

“No servant can talk him into coming to dinner father, you know that.” You pushed your chair back, and walked out of the great hall without sparing a glance to anyone, least of all Geralt.

To repeat, you absolutely knew you were being ridiculous. You had promised each other nothing, you hadn’t even talked of courting each other, the only thing that had happened was him sipping from your wine glass and you were-

Like this.

Something just had to be wrong with you.

Maybe you had misunderstood it, somehow. Misunderstood the whole situation,

Maybe he was only here to get his coin and then he would do…

Whatever it was the witchers did. Hunt more monsters, find another princess to save and all that.

Not that you cared. In fact you couldn’t care less.

You were so wrapped up in your own thoughts that you didn’t even notice the footsteps coming closer before you turned the corner to Fin’s chambers, but someone grabbed your arm and yanked it, making you turn around. You couldn’t help the squeal escaping from your lips, nobody touched you on purpose here, let alone catching you by surprise but only after your back hit the wall that you realized who it was.

Geralt.

“What are you doing?!” you exclaimed, “You idiot, you could’ve died!”

“You’re wearing long sleeves.”

You gawked at him, blinking dumbly, “…That’s your excuse?”

“What do you wish my excuse to be, princess?” he asked you crossly, and you looked down at where he was still holding you.

It was…

It was such a foreign feeling, really. Being held by someone, even if it was by surprise. The very spot under your long sleeves started to tingle pleasantly, and a warmth spread through your system, making you forget just how angry you were at him.

Was this how people felt all the time?

But of course, he pulled his hand back, making you let out a breath.

“You-“ he gritted his teeth, his gold eyes fixated on you, as if looking for words and you tried to focus.

“You should step back,” you managed to say, even if that was the last thing you wanted him to do, “This is dangerous for you, you’re standing too close.”

“Do you want me to go?”

You tried to ignore the fire his low voice sent to your face, “I could kill you!”

“You could kill me,” he repeated as a dark chuckle escaped from his lips, and he leaned in slightly, making you freeze so as not to make any move that could somehow result in you touching him, in order to protect him from you.

“You have burrowed your way into my mind,” he said through his teeth, his voice almost accusatory “And no matter what I do, or who I do it with, you’re not leaving.”

Even if you were standing very still, you could almost feel your breath getting caught in your throat as you stared up at him, not even daring to blink.

A door opened at the other end of the hall and Fin’s voice reached you.

“What’s going on here?”

You tried to catch your breath as Geralt took a step back, still keeping his gaze on you,

“Y/N?” Fin asked, “What are you doing?”

You narrowed your eyes at Geralt, glaring at him.

“Leaving,” you said simply, then pushed yourself off the wall and left both of them there, possibly equally confused as you made your way back to the great hall.


	5. New Threats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Court can be a dangerous place for many.

So, maybe the last few days had been quite tense. Maybe you still had some very specific dreams about Geralt, even though you were still furious at him.

Maybe you thought about what he had said to you in that hallway over and over and over again.

Just maybe.

Maybe, the whole reason why you had insisted to practice drawing with Ciri was to catch a sight of him- to glare at him.

Nothing more.

“No, I give up.” Ciri’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts and you turned your head.

“What? No!” you took a look at her sketch, “That’s not bad at all.”

“Not good either,” she pointed out and you raised your brows,

“I should tell Fin to show you some sketches I made when I was your age,” you said, “He still keeps them, possibly to make fun of me.”

Ciri let out a laugh as you leaned your head back to the tree trunk, then shielded your eyes from the sun.

“Fin is coming.” Ciri said and you turned your head, then waved at your brother who approached you, then sat down next to you.

“Morning.”

“Morning,” you said, “Can you please tell Ciri of my drawings when I was her age?”

“They were good.”

“Fin!”

“What? They were.”

“Told you,” Ciri said and you shook your head.

“Don’t believe him,” you told her, “Does mother still need Cassie?”

Fin nodded, “Yeah. Tried to save her but mother shooed me away- this is still better than when I try to draw,” he motioned at Ciri’s parchment and she arched a brow.

“You’re just saying that,” she said, and looked up when you heard her name being called. Your heart started slamming against your chest and Ciri made a face.

“I’m not Roach, Geralt, say what you are saying here,” she called out and out of the corner of your eye, you could see Fin’s eyes narrow as he sat up straighter beside you, keeping his gaze on Geralt. You pursed your lips and made yourself busy with your own parchment as Geralt and Jaskier approached you.

“Come on,” Geralt told her and she put her parchment beside her, but then frowned for a moment and looked between you as the silence fell upon all of you.

“Oh no,” she said, “What did you do?”

“Ciri.”

“No I’m serious, what happened?” she turned to you, “What did he do?”

You looked up from your parchment and raised your brows, “I don’t know what you’re saying. Sir Geralt.”

“Your highness.”

Ciri groaned, “Fin?”

“If she doesn’t know, I don’t know either.”

“Geralt?”

“Hm?”

She rolled her eyes, “Never mind, Jaskier can tell me.”

“I won’t.” Jaskier said as Fin’s gaze wandered off to him before snapping back to Geralt. Ciri stood up,

“I’ll find you later,” she said, and walked past Geralt, making him pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Jaskier,”

“I’ll be right behind you, give me a moment,” he told him, and Geralt left without so much as sparing you a glare.

You tried to ignore the sudden pang of pain shooting through you, but managed to turn your glances to Jaskier.

“Yes?” you asked him, and he cleared his throat.

“Your majesty, I was wondering if I- if….” He licked his lips, “If your maid is spoken for.”

Fin tilted his head like a confused puppy, his eyes narrowing once again as you raised your brows.

“Cassandra?”

“Yes.”

“You’d like to know if Cassandra is spoken for.” You smiled slightly, “Well, you have quite the competition then. Everyone in the court wants her favor. Lords included.”

“I think I got this, sister.” Fin stopped you and leaned back, “What is your name, bard?”

“Jaskier.”

“Never mind, I’ll just call you bard. What are your intentions?”

Jaskier looked between you, “My intentions?”

“Regarding my beautiful, beloved Cassie. What are your intentions?”

“I just….” Jaskier swallowed thickly, “Uh- I’d just like to know her better.”

Fin tut tutted, “See,” he said, “You’re a good looking man. Isn’t he a good looking man, sister?”

“I’d like to know what fault I have committed to deserve being a part of this conversation.” You muttered dryly, and Fin motioned at Jaskier’s face.

“You know, bright blue eyes and sweet voice and-“ he cleared his throat, “That is if you are into that sort of thing. But Cassie is our precious jewel, and a bard with not so serious intentions….” He clicked his tongue, and you rolled your eyes.

“Fin, stop scaring him off,” you reprimanded him, “Cassie likes flowers. You might as well make use of them while introducing yourself.”

“Or don’t introduce yourself.”

“Fin.”

“That’s also an option.”

“Don’t listen to him,” you said, “Flowers are a nice touch.”

Jaskier nodded, “Thank you,” he smiled and rushed to catch up with Geralt and Ciri, and you turned to Fin.

“Speaking of love,” you said, “Are we having that conversation yet?”

He had the audacity to look clueless, “What conversation?”

“You know what conversation.”

Fin pressed his lips together and turned his gaze to the court, crossing his arms, “I’m fine.”

“No you’re not.”

“Y/N.”

“Fin.” You insisted, “You’re not fine.”

“Yeah, maybe I’m not fine because no one else but me in this damn court seems to know how it feels not to be able to touch the object of one’s desire,” he snapped and for a couple of seconds you gawked at him as what he had just said dawned on him.

“Oh I’m especially dumb today,” he told you, “Have you noticed that? I woke up dumb this morning.”

You scoffed a laugh, “It’s alright,” you said, “Who is it then?”

He clicked his tongue, and closed his eyes, leaning his head back.

“I’m afraid my heart will stay a desert, sister,” he mumbled and even if you wanted to ask again, you knew Fin way too well to do so.

He would tell you, eventually. When you least expected him to.

It had been like that since you were children.

“It won’t.” you heard yourself say, and he opened his eyes.

“How do you know?”

You shrugged slightly, “It would be terribly unfair if both of us were unhappy,” you murmured, “One victim is enough for a family. Fate could at least spare you.”

He squeezed your upper arm over your long sleeved dress and you smiled at him, then leaned back to the tree again, closing your eyes for a moment of peace.

* * *

Thankfully, your mother was so distracted by the preparations of the guests’ room that she barely had any free time, so that crossed out the possibility of her asking you about embroideries or Fin, or anything really. By the time Cassie was allowed to come back to you, it was almost night but you had already lost the track of time due to being so engrossed in your sketching.

It was almost strange, drawing him. Normally, you needed a model in order to draw them correctly, to have someone or something to sit still in front of you, but Geralt had somehow burned himself into your memory that you thought you could draw him with your eyes closed.

No matter how much you despised what he had done.

“Your majesty?” Cassie knocked on the door and cracked it open, “Hello. I just wanted to say I’m back.”

“Oh come in, come in!” you told her as you put the sketch under the others so that she wouldn’t see, “Fin tried to save you twice, and I sent a maid. Mother just doesn’t seem to want to let you go.”

She let out a laugh, “It’s quite alright, it’s my job.”

“Your job isn’t to help my mother.”

“Your mother is the queen, your majesty. It’s everyone’s job in this castle.”

You shook your head slightly, “I suppose,” you mumbled, and Cassie walked to the big bowl on the table, spilled some liquid from the small vials and added water before the nice smell spread over the room.

“Your brother was reprimanded though.”

“By mother?”

“Yes,” she looked up at you and started tidying up the table, “I suppose the queen does not really like when the future king says “ _Leave my beloved be, I need her to discuss our wedding.”_ , who knew?”

You rubbed your eyes, “I’m going to smack Fin.”

“He has a good heart.” Cassie let out a laugh, “Can you imagine if he really was in love with me?”

“Oh trust me, you would want to divorce him if that ever happened. I pity his future wife.”

Cassie shook her head slightly, still smiling and your head shot up,

“I forgot to tell you,” you said, “You have another admirer.”

She raised her brows, “What?”

“Yes, Gera- um, the witcher’s bard. Jaskier.”

“Dark haired, blue eyes?”

“Yeah, that one,” you scoffed, “Poor thing, Fin intimidated him I think. He does look quite sweet though, wouldn’t you agree?”

Cassie curled her lips, shrugging and you walked to your mirror, grabbed your comb but both of you turned your heads when a blood-curdling scream reached into the chamber, along with the hurried footsteps and shouting.

You felt your blood freeze in your veins and Cassie held her breath, taking a step back while you put your comb down, trying to control your breathing. Both of you had been in the castle for way too long not to know what it meant.

If you heard a scream the middle of the night, it meant someone was either in danger, or was already killed.

You rushed to the door to swing it open as a guard came to block your way.

“Your highness-“

“Who is it?” you managed to ask through panic, “Fin-?”

“No, prince Fintan is alright, please go back to-“

“Who is it?!” you snapped at him and he licked his lips, exchanging glances with Cassie.

“Prince Tiernan.” The guard said, making your eyes widen,

“Did he-?”

“Someone has him, in the second hall. They’re trying to- princess!” he shouted after you as you bolted for the second hall, lifting your skirts a little to run faster. Your heart was beating in your ears, you could swear the fear had taken a hold of your body but you managed to reach the second hall, which was quite crowded with a lot of people staring at-

One corner.

The man was holding your baby brother who seemed to cry his eyes out, trying to reach for your mother who looked almost frozen, staring at them. The blade against Tiernan’s neck made the hair behind your neck rise but your eyes caught a sight of Fin, who had cornered the man and was standing still, maybe not even breathing as he held his sword against him, ready to attack the moment he made a move.

“Whoever paid you for this, we can pay more.” Your father’s voice was almost too calm, as Cassie reached you and covered her mouth. Fin’s sharp, fiery glare was unwavering as the man chuckled.

“You think this is about payment?” he asked, “You couldn’t afford my loyalty.”

“There’s no way out of this,” Fin growled, “Give me the baby.”

“Take one step and I will make his death slower.”

“Stay here,” you murmured through frozen lips and Cassie frowned,

“Your majesty-“

“Stay here.” You repeated as you made your way out of the hall, and looked around.

When you were children, one of your favorite games to play with Fin was hide and seek. By the time you were eight, you had already memorized every single hidden passage in the court, and second hall, just like all the other halls, had one.

You dragged your fingertips over the wall, then as soon as you found the spot, you pushed it and walked into the secret passage. The smell of dust almost made you gag, but you covered your mouth with your arm and kept walking until you reached the entrance, and slowly, very slowly pushed it so as not to make a noise. Fin’s eyes found you over the man’s shoulder before they snapped back to him.

“Who’s making you do this?” he asked to get his attention, and the man chuckled.

“I volunteered,” he spat, “This is an honor.”

“It’s an honor to harm a child?” Fin asked him as you swallowed thickly, barely hearing them over the sound of your own heartbeat. You flexed your fingers, taking a step closer and raised your hand, holding your breath.

“When this is over, Prince Fintan-“ the man said, “All of you will be dead.”

You could feel the fury roaring through you at the threat, and that somehow made the fear go away for a moment, making everything clearer in your head.

Then you touched his neck.

It was almost too easy, really. It barely took a second until his breath was caught in his throat, his body going limp and Fin threw his sword aside to catch Tiernan before he fell to the ground with the man. Tiernan let out a bawl, holding onto Fin as tight as he could before Fin pressed a kiss on his head, then handed him to your mother and rushed to you.

“Are you alright?”

You kept your gaze on the man lying on the ground, his eyes open but almost blank before you managed to nod.

“Yes.” You murmured, “I am. Are you?”

Fin raised his hand to squeeze your arm, but stopped when he saw that he had no gloves.

“It’s alright,” your voice was almost numb like the rest of you before you raised your glances to Fin, who nodded at you and took a deep breath.

And right in front of you, he turned into a king.

“Tell the guards to lock the gates,” he ordered, and grabbed his sword from the guard who brought it, “Everyone will return to their chambers.”

“Fin-“

“I got this, father,” he said, “Mother, you stay with Tiernan, there will be at least five guards- you, by the hall, grab four men and escort them.”

“Yes my prince.”

“Cassie, you and my sister go back to her chambers, send someone to check on Ciri as well.”

“Of course your highness.”

“Commander Bradan, I want every room searched, any suspicious letter will be brought to me.”

“Yes my prince.”

“Commander Marcel, you and your men, follow me.” Fin turned around and walked out of the hall, cutting through the crowd while you tried your hardest not to look at the men, the bile burning your throat.

Just like that.

Easy as that.

Neither your mother nor your father made any attempt of talking with you. You all just stood there for a moment as the whispers circled you, reminding you that there were people watching.

No emotions, no weakness.

Even if you felt like you could faint, you took a deep breath, threw your shoulders back and followed your mother and father out of the hall, all of you going in different directions without saying anything to each other as soon as you were out.

_Deep breaths._

_In and out._

_Keep walking_.

* * *

You had sent Cassie to her room, insisting that you needed some time after the events of the night, and that you would eventually go to sleep.

You knew you wouldn’t be able to.

You had almost forgotten how easy it was for you to kill somebody. While it was true that you had made sure you wouldn’t touch anyone, always kept your distance and kept your gloves on whenever you were outside, the feeling itself had grown cold, like a distant memory, until tonight.

The slight creak coming from the window made you turn your head and you swung your legs over the bed to stand up, frowning.

Another attempt?

You could feel the nervousness filling your system once more and you looked around the room, then grabbed the huge golden candelabra, and walked to the window to stand right beside it, holding the candelabra over your head. You held your breath, and as soon as the figure pushed the window open and jumped into the room you slammed it over their stomach, the impact making you trip as he grunted and grabbed the candelabra to snatch it from your hands-

“Geralt?!” you exclaimed, instantly letting go of the candelabra and covering your mouth, “Oh Gods, are you alright?!”

He nodded, rubbing at the spot and shot you a strange look.

“What are you doing?”

“What are _you_ doing?!” you asked back, “Why are you climbing through my window?”

“They locked the whole castle down while I was in the woods. You can kill people by touch and candelabra is your weapon of choice?” he asked you, making your heart skip a beat as what had happened before flashed through your mind, while Geralt tilted his head.

“Were you crying?”

You sniffled and rubbed at your eyes before walking away from him to sit down on your bed.

“I could vouch for you, you should’ve just sent a guard.”

“Why were you crying?”

“Ciri is fine.”

“Why were you crying?”

“So you have no reason to worry, we made sure of that-“

“Princess,” he cut you off, obviously not in the mood for these games, “Why were you crying?”

You tried to swallow the lump in your throat and rubbed your temples,

“Because,” you murmured, “They should’ve never let me out of that damn tower. I should’ve stayed there, no matter how much Fin and I begged father.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I killed someone,” you blurted out, “Tonight. He was going to hurt Tiernan, so I touched him and I killed him.”

“Princess-“

“I don’t feel bad about it.” You interrupted him, “At all. That’s why they should’ve left me there to rot, a good person feels bad about taking somebody’s life.”

“You stopped a grown man trying to hurt a baby.”

“By killing him.”

“Actions have consequences, sounds like he deserved it.”

“What about the next one?”

He frowned, “The next one?”

“Who’s to say it will be just him?” you asked him, “Who’s to say it won’t be someone that I don’t want to hurt, someone that I care about? What if it’s Fin, or Cassie, or-“ you wiped your eyes, sniffling, “Or you.”

A silence fell upon the room and you let out a bitter chuckle, looking up at him.

“Can you promise that I won’t hurt you?”

He stared at you for a couple of seconds, as if trying to see whether you were lying to him or not, but in the end he took a step towards you, then crouched down so that you could be eye to eye while you sat still on the bed.

“I can promise that I will do whatever it takes to make sure you don’t cry again,” his voice was low, and you blinked back tears, nodding slowly before wiping your eyes.

“Geralt if anyone sees you here you will be in trouble.”

He smiled slightly, “Right. Staring at each other, how dare we?”

A giggle you couldn’t stop left your lips and you bit down on your lip, stealing a look at his golden eyes that seemed to hold a soft light contrary to the usual.

“I’m glad you’re back safe,” you said as you sniffled and he raised his brows.

“Are you?”

“Of course I am.”

His eyes searched yours, then he cleared his throat,

“Princess, if I upset you,” he said “With my actions lately, it wasn’t….my intention.”

You licked your lips, suddenly feeling nervous as your stomach made a flip.

“I was merely under the impression that-“ you started, but then looked up when both of you heard the loud ring of the city bell.

Once, twice, three times-

Four. It rang four times.

“What does that mean?” Geralt asked and you swallowed thickly, trying your hardest not to focus on the last time you had heard it.

“Confinement.” You managed to say, “Of the city. No one goes in, no one goes out.”

He cussed under his breath and stood up, “I should-“

“Find Ciri. She’s in her chambers with two guards by her door, I made sure of that.” You stood up as well, “Go.”

He nodded before rushing out of your chambers and you walked to the window, then leaned your elbows on the sill and closed your eyes, the bell still ringing in your ears.


End file.
